This invention relates to an oil consumption meter for use with an oil-burning furnace.
Many homes in North America rely on an oil-burning furnace as the primary source of heat. The furnace is usually installed in the basement, and may be used, for example, to heat air that is delivered to the various parts of the house through a duct system by means of a blower associated with the furnace or water that is distributed through a radiator system.
Such furnaces are usually supplied by a large oil tank having an inlet pipe leading to the exterior. Most homeowners have a contract with an oil supplier, who fills up the tank at periodic intervals. Generally, the contractor estimates consumption from past data and environmental conditions The contractor then bills the homeowner in accordance with the reading shown on the meter mounted on the oil tanker.
Generally speaking, the homeowner has no means of verifying the tanker reading or monitoring oil consumption on an on-going basis. Oil tanks are not generally supplied with level meters, and such level meters are notoriously unreliable. It would be a tricky and messy task to retrofit such a meter, and furthermore the cross-sectional area of a standard oil tank is such that a small change in level can represent a significant quantity of fuel. It is therefore extremely difficult to provide an accurate indication of oil consumption by this means.
Various types of flow meter are known. In theory, such a flow meter could be mounted in the oil delivery system of the furnace, but such a meter would require invasion of the furnace system in order to be plumbed in. Such an operation is likely to be beyond the capability of the average homeowner, and furthermore such systems are generally expensive.
An object of the invention is to provide a low cost retrofittable device that the homeowner can use to monitor oil consumption without requiring invasion of the furnace system.